The present disclosure relates to a blister pack machine integrated with a box carton machine, which can be used for making blister packs and a box carton blister pack.

The high-speed blister pack machine integrated with the box carton machine includes a blister packing machine and a box carton machine. The blister packing machine is for forming and packaging blister packs, and the box carton machine is used to put the blister packs into boxes for package blister pack. After the blister packs are packaged and trimmed by the blanking device, the blister packs enter one by one into the discharging grid conveying device. Then, the blister packs on the discharging grid conveying device are transferred to the feeding grid conveying device through a blister pack transferring manipulator. Finally, the blister packs are conveyed to the box carton machine by the feeding grid conveying device for the box carton. In order to make the blister packs in the bioclean environment when being filled with capsules in foreign practices, the joint transmission generally passes through a clean area and a non-clean area. The clean area is isolated from the non-clean area by a pressure difference between the areas. However, there still exists a risk that the bacteria in the non-clean area may be brought into the clean area through the conveyor belt.

In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a high-speed blister pack machine integrated with a box carton machine, which can effectively prevent the bacteria in the non-clean area from entering the clean area through the conveyor belt.

The high-speed blister pack machine integrated with the box carton machine includes a blister packing machine and a box carton machine. The blister packing machine is connected to a discharging grid conveying device. The box carton machine is connected to a feeding grid conveying device. The continuous transmission between the discharging grid conveying device and the feeding grid conveying device is achieved through a blister pack transferring manipulator. The discharging grid conveying device includes a clean area grid conveying device, located in a clean area, and a non-clean area grid conveying device, located in a non-clean area. The position of the clean area grid conveying device is higher than the position of the non-clean area grid conveying device. The front end of the clean area grid conveying device and the rear end of the non-clean area grid conveying device are connected to each other through a slideway to achieve a continuous transmission. The clean area and the non-clean area are separated by a partition wall. The partition wall has a window, and the slideway passes through the window.

The air pressure of the clean area is higher than the air pressure of the non-clean area.

A return guide channel is arranged in front of the non-clean area grid conveying device. A return conveying belt is arranged under the return guide channel, and a sample collecting bucket is arranged at the discharging end of the return conveying belt.

The discharging grid conveying device has a plurality of conveying channels, and each conveying channel includes a grid conveying chain hook, a driving chain wheel and a driven chain wheel. The grid conveying chain hook winds around the driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel, and the driving chain wheel is connected to a drive of a conveying power source.

The discharging grid conveying device has three conveying channels, wherein the driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel of the inner conveying channel are installed on an inner housing. The driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel of the middle conveying channel are installed on a middle housing. The driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel of the outer conveying channel are installed on an outer housing. An adjusting screw rod is installed on the middle housing, and two ends of the adjusting screw rod are connected to the inner housing and the outer housing through screw threads, respectively. Two partition mounting frames, capable of being moved and adjusted relative to each other, are installed on the left and right sides of the middle housing. A middle left partition and a middle right partition are installed on the partition mounting frames, and the middle conveying channel is located between the middle left partition and the middle right partition.

The non-clean area grid conveying device and the feeding grid conveying device are arranged side by side. The blister pack transferring manipulator is arranged on one side of the feeding grid conveying device, and the blister pack transferring manipulator includes a base, a suction nozzle and a suction nozzle bracket. The suction nozzle bracket is hinged with the front end of the up and down lift arm, and the up and down lift arm is hinged on the front and rear transfer arm. The lower end of the front and rear transfer arm is rotatably installed on a sliding base. An up and down lift power source and a front and rear transfer power source are installed on the sliding base. The front and rear transfer power source is connected to a drive of the front and rear transfer arm. The up and down lift power source is connected to a drive of the lower end of a lift pull rod. The upper end of the lift pull rod is hinged with the back end of the up and down lift arm. A slide rail arranged in the left and right direction is installed on the base, and the sliding base is slidably arranged on the slide rail. The sliding base is connected to a drive of a horizontal transfer power source, driving the sliding base to move on the slide rail. The sliding base is provided with a horizontal holding assembly to keep the suction nozzle bracket horizontal.

The horizontal holding assembly includes a horizontal transverse pull rod, a triangular cantilever, a horizontal vertical pull rod, an upper pull rod support and a lower pull rod support. The triangular cantilever is hinged with the front and rear transfer arm, and one corner of the triangular cantilever is hinged with the rear end of the horizontal transverse pull rod. The upper pull rod support is arranged on the suction nozzle bracket, and the front end of the horizontal transverse pull rod is hinged with the upper pull rod support. Another corner of the triangular cantilever is hinged with the upper end of the horizontal vertical pull rod. The lower pull rod support is installed on the sliding base, and the lower end of the horizontal vertical pull rod is hinged with the lower pull rod support.

The up and down lift power source is connected to a drive of a triangular connecting arm, one corner of the triangular connecting arm is hinged with the lower end of the lift pull rod, and another corner of the triangular connecting arm is connected to a telescopic member driving the lift pull rod to pull down.

The base is provided with a synchronous belt assembly. The synchronous belt assembly includes a driven synchronous pulley, a driving synchronous pulley and a synchronous belt. The synchronous belt winds around the driven synchronous pulley and the driving synchronous pulley. The synchronous belt is connected to the sliding base. The driving synchronous pulley is connected to the drive of the horizontal transfer power source.

The up and down lift power source, the front and rear transfer power source and the horizontal transfer power source are all servo motor reducer combinations.

According to the high-speed blister pack machine integrated with the box carton machine of the present invention, separate grid conveying devices are respectively arranged in the clean area and the non-clean area. The material transition is realized by the height difference of the two grid conveying devices, thereby preventing the bacteria in the non-clean area from entering the clean area through the conveying belt, and preventing the bacteria in the non-clean area from entering the clean area through the air by the difference in air pressure. Through these two aspects, the problem of the bacteria from the non-clean area entering into the clean area is completely solved.

• FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of the integrated machine according to the present invention;
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the discharging grid conveying device and the feeding grid conveying device according to the present invention;
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the discharging grid conveying device;
• FIG. 4 is the front view of the discharging grid conveying device;
• FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the part A in FIG. 4;
• FIG. 6 is an explosive diagram showing the structures of the three channels of the clean area grid conveying device;
• FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the part B in FIG. 6;
• FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the working condition of the blister pack transferring manipulator;
• FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the blister pack transferring manipulator;
• FIG. 10 is the front view of the blister pack transferring manipulator; and
• FIG. 11 is the side view of the blister pack transferring manipulator.

As shown in FIG. 1, the high-speed blister pack machine integrated with box carton machine includes the blister packing machine 1 and the box carton machine 3. The blister packing machine 1 is connected to the discharging grid conveying device 2. The box carton machine 3 is connected to the feeding grid conveying device 4. The continuous transmission between the discharging grid conveying device 2 and the feeding grid conveying device 4 is realized through the blister pack transferring manipulator 5. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the discharging grid conveying device 2 passes through the clean area C and the non-clean area D. The clean area C and the non-clean area D are both enclosed by the glass outer wall. The clean area C is a closed structure, which is strictly forbidden to be opened. The clean area C places a higher requirement on the index of bacteria content in the air, and ensures that no bacteria can enter the clean area C when the blister pack is filled with the capsule, thus meeting the international hygienic standards for drug packaging.

In the prior art, the existing discharging grid conveying device is an independent device and runs through the clean area C and the non-clean area D. The bioclean environment of the clean area C is guaranteed only by differential pressure. However, as described in the background, the independent discharging grid conveying device will still bring bacteria from the non-clean area D to the clean area C through the grid conveying belt of the discharging grid conveying device (because the grid conveying belt runs cyclically), thereby contaminating the clean area C. To solve the problem, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the discharging grid conveying device of the present invention includes two separate conveying devices. That is, the clean area grid conveying device 21 located in the clean area C and the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 located in the non-clean area D. In this way, the clean area grid conveying device 21 is entirely located in the clean area C, while the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 is entirely located in the non-clean area D. The clean area grid conveying device 21 and the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 complete the conveying process through separate grid conveyor belts. In order to achieve a continuous transmission between the clean area grid conveying device 21 and the non-clean area grid conveying device 22, the position of the clean area grid conveying device 21 is higher than the position of the non-clean area grid conveying device 22. The front end of the clean area grid conveying device 21 is connected to the back end of the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 through the slideway 23. The blister pack is transferred from the clean area grid conveying device 21 and slides to the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 through the slideway 23, thereby achieving the continuous transmission. The clean area C and the non-clean area D are separated by the partition wall 24, and the partition wall 24 has the window 240. The slideway 23 passes through the window 240. The partition wall 24 is located in this position to minimize the window 240 and minimize the possibility of bacteria entering the clean area through the window 240. Meanwhile, because the partition wall 24 does not interfere with the grid conveying devices on both sides, the grid conveying devices on both sides can be convenient for installation and maintenance. Through the above structure, the bacteria in the non-clean area D can be prevented from entering the clean area C through the conveyor belt. In addition, the air pressure in the clean area C is higher than the air pressure in the non-clean area D, so the bacteria in the non-clean area D is prevented from entering the clean area C through the air facilitated by the air pressure difference. Through these two aspects, the problem of bacteria from the non-clean area entering the clean area is completely solved.

In order to realize the sampling inspection, as shown in FIG. 4, according to the present invention, the return guide channel 25 is arranged in front of the non-clean area grid conveying device 22, the return conveying belt 26 is arranged under the return guide channel 25, and the sample collecting bucket 260 is arranged at the discharging end of the return conveying belt 26. In general, the blister pack on the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 is transferred to the feeding grid of the box carton machine through the manipulator for the box carton. When the sampling inspection of the blister pack is required, the blister pack transferring manipulator 5 stops sucking the blister pack to allow the blister pack to continue to move forward. After the blister pack reaches the back end, the blister pack falls down on the return conveying belt 26 through the return guide channel 25. Finally, the blister pack is transported into the sample collecting bucket 260 through the return conveying belt 26. In this way, samples can be taken from the sample collecting bucket 260 for inspection. This conveying system capable of return and inspection has two following functions: first, performing the leak detection of the blister pack in the non-clean area D; and second, supplying the feeding system for making the blister pack. The sample collecting bucket 260 is arranged next to the feeding system, which is conductive to trimming the blister pack and replenishing the material stock of the feeding system, so as to avoid the pause caused by the material replenishment and to maximize the production efficiency of the full-server high-speed blister pack machine integrated with the box carton machine.

In order to improve the conveying efficiency, the discharging grid conveying device 2 has a plurality of conveying channels (the number of conveying channels of the clean area grid conveying device 21 is equal to the number of conveying channels of the non-clean area grid conveying device 22). As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, each conveying channel includes the grid conveying chain hook 224 (that is, the grid conveyor belt), the driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel 223. The grid conveying chain hook 224 winds around the driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel 223. The driving chain wheel is connected to the drive of the conveying power source 27. Driven by the conveying power source 27, the grid conveying chain hook 224 rotates, thereby driving the blister pack to integrate within the box carton machine.

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG.7, according to the present invention, the discharging grid conveying device 2 has three conveying channels. The driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel of the inner conveying channel are installed on the inner housing 220. The driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel 223 of the middle conveying channel are installed on the middle housing 221. The driving chain wheel and the driven chain wheel of the outer conveying channel are installed on the outer housing 222. In order to adjust the width of the conveying channels to adapt to the blister packs with different widths, according to the present invention, the adjusting screw rod 226 is installed on the middle housing 221, and two ends of the adjusting screw rod 226 are connected to the inner housing 220 and the outer housing 222 through screw threads, respectively. In addition, two partition mounting frames 225, capable of being moved and adjusted relative to each other, are installed on the left and right sides of the middle housing 221. The middle left partition 2210 and the middle right partition 2211 are installed on the partition mounting frames 225, the middle conveying channel is located between the middle left partition 2210 and the middle right partition 2211. When the width of the three conveying channels needs to be adjusted, for example, enlarging the distance between the three conveying channels, the distance between the two partition mounting frames 225 on the middle housing 221 is adjusted to to accommodate the channels. In this way, the distance between the middle left partition 2210 and the middle right partition 2211 becomes larger, widening the width of the middle conveying channel. Then, by rotating the adjusting screw rod 226 (which may be performed manually or driven by the motor 28), the inner housing 220 and the outer housing 222 on both sides are moved in the opposite direction, so that both the inner conveying channel and the outer conveying channel are widened. Of course, the width of the conveying channels is also narrowed by the above-mentioned adjustment method. This adjustment method is easy to operate and can adapt to transportation of blister packs with different widths.

In order to slightly adjust the width of the inner and outer conveying channels, according to the present invention, the inner partition 2200, which can be moved and adjusted left and right, is installed on the inner housing 220. The outer partition 2220, which can be moved and adjusted left and right, is installed on the outer housing 222. The inner housing 220 and the outer housing 222 can be adjusted within a large range of distance, while a fine adjustment can be performed on the inner partition 2200 and the outer partition 2220 manually, which can be very convenient.

As shown in FIG. 8, the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 and the feeding grid conveying device 4 are arranged side by side. The blister pack transferring manipulator 5 is arranged on one side of the feeding grid conveying device 4. The blister pack transferring manipulator 5 is used to transfer the blister pack on the non-clean area grid conveying device 22, to the feeding grid conveying device 4 of the box carton machine 3, and then the blister pack is packaged into a box, along with the specification, through the box carton machine 3.

As shown in FIGS. 9-11, the blister pack transferring manipulator 5 includes the base 518, the suction nozzle 51, and the suction nozzle bracket 52. The suction nozzle 51 is installed on the suction nozzle bracket 52. Those are the same as the prior art but differ in the way in which the suction nozzle bracket 52 is driven to move forward and backward, left and right, and up and down.

In order to realize the above three movement modes of the suction nozzle bracket 52, according the present invention, the suction nozzle bracket 52 is hinged with the front end of the up and down lift arm 53 through the upper support 520 and the connecting shaft. The up and down lift arm 53 is hinged on the front and rear transferr arm 54. The lower end of the front and rear transfer arm 54 is rotatably installed on the sliding base 519 (installed on the sliding base 519 through the main shaft and the main shaft base 516). The up and down lift power source 57 and the front and rear transfer power source 59 are installed on the sliding base 59. The front and rear transfer power source 59 is connected to the drive of the front and rear transfer arm 54. The up and down lift power source 7 is connected to the drive of the lower end of the lift pull rod 55. The upper end of the lift pull rod 55 is hinged with the back end of the up and down lift arm 53. The slide rail arranged in the left and right direction is installed on the machine base 518 (the slide rail is not shown), and the sliding base 519 is arranged on the slide rail. The sliding base 519 is connected to the drive of the horizontal transfer power source 58 driving the sliding base 519 to move on the slide rail. In addition, the sliding base 519 is provided with the horizontal holding assembly to keep the suction nozzle bracket 52 horizontal.

The working principle of the blister pack transferring manipulator 5 is as follows: first, the manipulator sucks one or more rows of blister packs on the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 (according to packaging standard). Second, the horizontal transfer power source 58 drives the sliding base 519 to move, and the sliding base 519 carries the suction nozzle bracket 52 and the suction nozzle 51 to move quickly along the conveying direction of the feeding grid conveying device 4 (in the X-axis direction in FIG. 9). The horizontal movement of the sliding base 519 is faster than the conveying speed of the feeding grid conveying device 4. In the process of the horizontal movement, the front and rear transfer power source 59 drives the front and rear transfer arm 54 to rotate, that is, to rotate backward, so that the suction nozzle bracket 52 is moved towards the feeding grid conveying device 4 (in the Y-axis direction in FIG. 9). At the same time, the up and down lift power source 57 drives the lift pull rod 55 to move upward, so that the end of the up and down lift arm 53, connected to the lift pull rod 55, is moved upward, and the end of the up and down lift arm 53, connected to the suction nozzle bracket 52, is moved downward (in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 9), so that the suction nozzle 51 reaches directly above the feeding grid conveying device 4. Then the suction nozzle is deflated to make the row of blister packs fall onto the feeding grid conveying device 4. In the process of releasing the blister packs, the sliding base still tracks the feeding grid conveying device 4 and maintains the same moving speed and the same conveying direction as the feeding grid conveying device 4. By this way, the blister packs can be smoothly placed on the feeding grid conveying device 4, and continuous conveying can be achieved between the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 and the feeding grid conveying device 4, thereby greatly improving the packaging efficiency. If a plurality of rows of suction nozzles are arranged on the suction nozzle bracket 52, in order to realize the packaging of one blister pack per box, the suction nozzle bracket 52 needs to rise immediately (in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 9), after releasing one row, and at the same time, move quickly in the opposite direction of the feeding grid conveying device 4 (in the X-axis direction in FIG. 9), to reach the top of the empty space behind the feeding grid conveying device 4. Meanwhile, the position of the suction nozzle bracket 52 is adjusted (in the Y-axis direction in FIG. 9) to cause the other row of suction nozzles 51 to be directly above the empty space behind the feeding grid conveying device 4. Then the blister packs of this row are released by the suction nozzles 51. Of course, the stacking and the formation of the carton of (2-5) blister packs per box can also be accomplished by programming within the optimized transfer trajectory and least movement beat. According to the present invention, the manipulator is provided with three rows of suction nozzles 51 on the suction nozzle bracket 52. The three rows of suction nozzles 51 can basically satisfy the stacking and the formation of the carton of (1-5) blister packs per box.

No matter how the suction nozzle bracket 52 is moved, the suction nozzle bracket 52 is always kept horizontal, and the suction nozzle bracket 52 is maintained horizontally through the horizontal holding assembly. According to the present invention, the horizontal holding assembly of the manipulator includes the horizontal transverse pull rod 510, the triangular cantilever 511, the horizontal vertical pull rod 512, the upper pull rod support 5100 and the lower pull rod support 513. The triangular cantilever 511 is hinged with the front and rear transfer arm 54, and one corner of the triangular cantilever 511 is hinged with the rear end of the horizontal transverse pull rod 510. The upper pull rod support 5100 is mounted on the suction nozzle bracket 52 (as shown in FIG. 8), and the front end of the horizontal transverse pull rod 510 is hinged with the upper pull rod support 5100. Another corner of the triangular cantilever 511 is hinged with the upper end of the horizontal vertical pull rod 512. The lower pull rod support 513 is installed on the sliding base 519, and the lower end of the horizontal vertical pull rod 512 is hinged with the lower pull rod support 513. Through the horizontal holding assembly, as shown in FIG. 11, the lower hinge point 5200 of the suction nozzle bracket 52 and the up and down lift arm 53 is always perpendicular to the upper hinge point 5201 of the upper pull rod support 5100 and the horizontal transverse pull rod 510 (If the two hinge points are not perpendicular, the direction is unchanged). Since both the lower hinge point 5200 and the upper hinge point 5201 are located on the suction nozzle bracket 52, the suction nozzle bracket 52 does not rotate and keeps horizontal, no matter whether it is moving up and down, or forward and backward.

As shown in FIG. 11, the connecting section between the up and down lift arm 53 and the suction nozzle bracket 52 is a long arm, and the connecting section between the up and down lift arm 53 and the lift pull rod 55 is a short arm. According to the lever principle, the lift pull rod 55 has to overcome a large upward pulling force to keep the suction nozzle bracket 52 in balance, while the lift pull rod 55 is connected to the drive of the up and down lift power source 57, so the pulling force to be overcome is transferred to the up and down lift power source 57, leading that the up and down lift power source 57 has to bear a greater load for this purpose. In order to reduce the load of the up and down lift power source 57, according to present invention, the up and down lift power source 57 is connected to the drive of the triangular connecting arm 56, where one corner of the triangular connecting arm 56 is hinged with the lower end of the lift pull rod 55. Another corner of the triangular connecting arm 56 is connected to the telescopic member 515 driving the lift pull rod 55 to pull down. Since the telescopic member 515 applies a backward pulling force to the corner of the triangular connecting arm 56, there exists a downward pulling force at the connecting end of the triangular connecting arm 56 and the lift pull rod 55, and the downward pulling force just reduces the upward pulling force to the lift pull rod 55, applied by the suction nozzle bracket 52 , thus reducing the load of the up and down lift power source 57, so that the up and down lift power source 57 has a longer service life. Of course, the telescopic member 515 here may be a tension spring or a supporting cylinder.

In order to make the sliding base 519 move quickly, according to the present invention, the base 518 of the manipulator is provided with the synchronous belt assembly. The synchronous belt assembly includes the driven synchronous pulley, the driving synchronous pulley and the synchronous belt 514. The synchronous belt 514 winds around the driven synchronous pulley and the driving synchronous pulley. The synchronous belt 514 is connected to the sliding base 519. The horizontal transfer power source 58 is connected to the drive of the driving synchronous pulley. The synchronous belt 514, driven by the horizontal transfer power source 58, drives the sliding base 519 to move quickly back and forth on the slide rail, so that the suction nozzle 51 and the suction nozzle bracket 52 can catch up with the non-clean area grid conveying device 22 and the feeding grid conveying device 4.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the up and down lift power source 57, the front and rear transfer power source 59 and the horizontal transfer power source 58 of the manipulator of the present invention are all servo motor reducer combinations. The servo motor reducer combinations can accurately control the action of each mechanism, so as to complete the operation of sucking and releasing the blister pack with little error.